Work to Repair Dams Won't Raise Water

Repair work on dams along the Kentucky River should fix leaks and ensure stability, but there should be no significant increase in the region’s supply of water. David Hamilton with the Kentucky River Authority says dams three and nine have been rebuilt with plans to rework dams eight and ten later on. “Those plans don’t call for raising of the dams at this point. They are designed so in the future they would have the stability to accommodate a raise. At this point, there is no raise incorporated into those designs,” said Hamilton.

Hamilton says there are no plans to raise the height of any dams. However, it such work is approved some day, it could significantly increase their ability to store Kentucky river water...

“A four foot raise equates to about close to a billion gallons of water of increased storage in that pool. Even those incremental raises give you a very good usable quantity of water. It’s not necessarily raising a dam 20 feet taller than it is,” added Hamilton.

Design work on dam ten near Boonesborough State Park begins next year.